4/6/24: Igor Siqueira Scores 67-Second Win To Earn Interim LFA Flyweight Title
Also: Regian Eersel's 1,700 day kickboxing title reign comes to an end.
Welcome to a Saturday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s issue is tracking the happenings of a busy weekend in MMA. We have reports on events from LFA and ONE Championship, plus a preview of tonight’s UFC, KSW, and Cage Warriors cards. Let’s begin.
Igor Siqueira Scores 67-Second Win To Earn Interim LFA Flyweight Title
Igor Siqueira had a lightning-quick performance on Friday evening to become the interim LFA Flyweight Champion, putting away Eimar Hernandez in just 67 seconds.
Siqueira scored a one-punch knockout against Hernandez, putting him away a minute into the fight with a clean counter right hand. While it wasn’t a walk-off win for Siqueira, the referee stopped the fight almost immediately after the shot was landed.
The Brazilian flyweight prospect found the finish just moments after he seemingly was in trouble. An overhand right from Hernandez knocked Siqueira down 25 seconds into the fight. Siqueira was quick to get back up from this shot and claimed afterward that the moment was more of a slip than anything.
Siqueira’s win headlined LFA 181, which took place Friday from the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake, Minnesota, USA.
LFA’s main event this weekend came together after the card underwent numerous major changes. Hernandez was originally booked to face current LFA flyweight champ Eduardo Chapolin. But Chapolin later withdrew from the fight, as did fill-in opponent Jordan Harris.
Siqueira, a fighter who was expected to compete on last weekend’s LFA card before his opponent withdrew, was thrown onto this weekend’s card on about a week’s notice. Siqueira had just a few days to prepare for a fight that could go as far as five rounds in total.
The new interim champ expressed interest in unifying the flyweight belts and called for a fight against Chapolin in Brazil.
“Chapolin, you better stay ready,” Siqueira said through an interpreter. “What about we fight in an arena in the Amazon with 25,000 people in Brazil and put the belt on the line?”
Friday was Siqueira’s second chance at an LFA flyweight title. He previously challenged Cody Davis last year, getting stopped in the fifth round of that bout.
The quick finish outcome was Hernandez’s first pro loss. He came into this weekend with an undefeated record of seven wins, including appearances in notable regional promotions like A1 Combat, Cage Warriors, and B2 Fighting Series.
Undefeated bantamweight prospect Quang Le picked up another big win in the co-main event spot of the card, stopping ONE Championship alum Tial Thang in the first round with a left hook knockout. Le has now earned eight victories since turning pro in 2021, seven of which have come inside the LFA cage.
Here are the results from LFA’s latest trip to Minnesota:
Main Card (9:00PM EDT / 8:00PM CDT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 13: Igor Siqueira def. Eimar Hernandez via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:07) (Vacant Interim LFA Flyweight Championship)
Bout 12: Quang Le def. Tial Thang via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:47)
Bout 11: Shaheen Santana def. Isaac Thomson via Decision, Split
Bout 10: Santos Verdinez def. Keegan Witbeck via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 9: Wes Schultz def. Adland Benson via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:39)
Bout 8: Alvin Hines def. Justin Smith via Decision, Unanimous
Broadcasted Prelims (Youtube)
Bout 7: Steven Asplund def. Larry Gonzales via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Mark Choinski def. Noah Lindsey via Submission, Armbar (RD 1, 4:57)
Bout 5: Jayde Sheeley def. Hannah Brobyskov via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 3:34)
Preliminary Card
Bout 4: Kurtis Ellis def. Canon Swanson via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:24)
Bout 3: Kelton Sneve def. Davion Trotter via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Griffin Parriott def. Michael Banks via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 2:21)
Bout 1: Dalan Jones def. Zach Gehl via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:42) (Amateur)
Alexis Nicolas Ends Regian Eersel’s Multi-Year ONE Championship Title Reign
The lengthy kickboxing title reign of Regian Eersel has come to an end.
Eersel was handed his first-ever ONE Championship defeat on Friday night, dropping a close unanimous decision result to Alexis Nicolas. The outcome concluded Eersel’s multi-year run on top of ONE’s 170-pound kickboxing division.
Nicolas’ win headlined ONE Fight Night 21 from the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Nicolas was active off his back foot throughout the fight, earning him rounds on scorecards. While Eersel was consistently the advancing fighter, Nicolas was often able to land the better shots nonetheless.
The biggest moment for Nicolas came in the second round when he knocked down the champ with a clean right cross. While this shot didn’t put Eersel in much danger, it recorded a substantial 10-8 round for Nicolas that helped him put together an early lead.
Eersel picked up rounds on the back end of the bout, upping his output and making it a close fight. The fight’s result seemed hard to call after 15 minutes of action, although judges were in complete agreement as to who had the better night.
Eersel was ONE’s 170-pound division kickboxing champion for nearly 1,800 days. He first earned the title in 2019, beating kickboxing legend Nieky Holzken. He defended the belt four times over the next few years, although a switch to Muay Thai as of late has benched his kickboxing title since 2022.
The 31-year-old still holds his ONE Muay Thai title, which he has defended twice since earning it against Sinsamut Klinmee two years back.
Nicolas was making just his second ONE Championship appearance when he fought this weekend. He won his promotional debut three months back, overcoming Magomed Magomedov in a three-round decision.
Nicolas wasn’t specific about what he wanted next but emphasized the importance of receiving quality opponents. “I want to fight the best because I am the best and I want to show it,” he said.
In the top MMA bout of the evening, undefeated heavyweight Ben Tynan dominated Duke Didier for a first-round stoppage victory. Tynan now has six wins as a pro, including a pair of appearances in ONE Championship.
A fight lower on the card also saw Jeremy Pacatiw win in his return, submitting Wang Shuo in the first round with a rear naked choke.
Here are the quick results from ONE Fight Night 21:
Main Card (8:00PM EDT / 7:00AM ICT) (Amazon Prime Video)
Bout 10: Alexis Nicolas def. Regian Eersel via Decision, Unanimous (ONE Kickboxing Lightweight Championship) (170 lbs)
Bout 9: Tye Ruotolo def. Izaak Michell via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 1:43) (ONE Grappling Welterweight Championship) (185 lbs)
Bout 8: Suablack Tor.Pran49 def. Vladimir Kuzmin via Decision, Unanimous (Muay Thai)
Bout 7: Ben Tynan def. Duke Didier via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:36)
Bout 6: Denis Puric def. Jacob Smith via Decision, Unanimous (Grappling)
Bout 5: Kade Ruotolo def. Francisco Lo via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 4:48) (Grappling)
Bout 4: Dedduanglek Tded99 def. Taiki Naito via Decision, Unanimous (Kickboxing)
Bout 3: Hiroyuki Tetsuka def. Valmir da Silva via Submission, North South Choke (RD 2, 3:34)
Bout 2: Songchainoi def. Nicolas Leite Silva via Decision, Unanimous (Muay Thai)
Bout 1: Jeremy Pacatiw def. Wang Shuo via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 2:07)
Previews
Brendan Allen Looks To Avenge Latest Loss In UFC Main Event
Since he joined the UFC roster in 2019, Brendan Allen has only lost to two fighters. The first was Sean Strickland, who then continued to rise up the middleweight division and become champion last year. Second was Chris Curtis, who stopped him with strikes in late 2021.
On Saturday night, Allen will have a chance to avenge the most recent loss in his career and continue his strong rise up the middleweight division. He’ll go up to five rounds against Curtis in the headlining spot of a card from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Allen wasn’t originally expected to face Curtis this weekend. In an attempt to further advance his run up the 185-pound division rankings, he was expected to meet former title challenger Marvin Vettori. But after Vettori withdrew from the fight just a few weeks ago, Curtis took his place.
Allen has been on the best run of his career as of late. He has won his last six fights, with five of them coming via rear naked choke. The 28-year-old prevailed in his first-ever UFC main event last November, putting away Paul Craig in the third round via submission.
Curtis hasn’t found the same consistency of success than Allen has since they first met. He has earned three wins, two losses and one no contest since 2022, never putting together a winning streak greater than one fight. His last appearance came in January when he picked up a split decision win over Marc-Andre Barriault at UFC 297. A win this weekend can help move him up the rankings, as Allen is currently eight spots above him.
This weekend’s UFC card is undoubtedly one of the lower-importance lineups of the year. The card has numerous newcomers and many fighters who are competing in the promotion for just the second time. A large amount of the focus surrounding the promotion currently is attached to next week’s card, UFC 300, which features two title fights, a “B.M.F.” bout, and a stacked undercard.
This weekend’s lineup features a co-main event between featherweights Alexander Hernandez and Damon Jackson. While both 145-pound fighters are known for facing tough names in the division, they’ll be trying to get back into the win column after unsuccessful recent appearances.
Cynthia Calvillo missed weight for her strawweight fight against Piera Rodriguez by three pounds on Friday, causing their matchup to depart the card. Calvillo was looking to snap a five-fight losing streak in her return to the cage.
Here’s a full look at Saturday’s UFC card. The lineup notably has an earlier start time than usual, with the main card beginning at 6 p.m. ET.
Main Card (6:00PM EDT / 3:00PM PDT) (ESPN+)
Bout 12: Brendan Allen (23-5) vs. Chris Curtis (31-10) (Middleweight)
Bout 11: Alexander Hernandez (14-7) vs. Damon Jackson (22-6-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 10: Morgan Charriere (19-9-1) vs. Chepe Mariscal (15-6) (Featherweight)
Bout 9: Ignacio Bahamondes (14-5) vs. Christos Giagos (20-11) (Lightweight)
Bout 8: Lukasz Brzeski (8-4-1) vs. Valter Walker (11-0) (Heavyweight)
Bout 7: Trevor Peek (9-1) vs. Charlie Campbell (8-2) (Lightweight)
Preliminary Card (3:00PM EDT / 12:00PM PDT) (ESPN+)
Bout 6: Court McGee (21-12) vs. Alex Morono (23-9) (Welterweight)
Bout 5: Norma Dumont (10-2) vs. Germaine de Randamie (10-4) (Bantamweight)
Bout 4: Pedro Falcao (16-3) vs. Victor Hugo (24-4) (Bantamweight)
Bout 3: Jean Matsumoto (14-0) vs. Dan Argueta (9-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 2: Dylan Budka (7-2) vs. Cesar Almeida (4-0) (Middleweight)
Bout 1: Melissa Tonya Mullins (6-0) vs. Nora Cornolle (7-1) (Bantamweight)
A Long Awaited Homecoming For Salahdine Parnasse
For the first time since he joined Polish MMA promotion KSW in 2017, decorated fighter Salahdine Parnasse will fight in front of his home supporters.
Parnasse will headline KSW 93, which sees the promotion make its debut in France. While the country just legalized MMA a few years back, recent events by the PFL and UFC have proven that it’s already a hot market for the sport. KSW will try to create another big moment in the country’s still-growing scene when they head to the Adidas Arena in Paris on Saturday night.
France’s Parnasse has arguably been the most successful KSW fighter in recent years. He has fought around KSW’s featherweight title picture since 2019 and is currently on his second run with a belt in that division. He also became the undisputed lightweight titleholder last year, being elevated to the sole champion in the weight class last year after he beat Sebastian Rajewski in an interim championship bout.
After failing to capture a belt in a third weight class—a nearly unheard-of accomplishment—Parnasse will return to lightweight this weekend to face Valeriu Mircea.
Due to Parnasse’s activity around numerous weight classes, an interim title was set up at 155 pounds earlier this year. Valeriu Mircea became the fighter to earn the belt, submitting Leo Brichta in the fourth round of a bout two months ago. Mircea had already built up momentum in the promotion before that fight, earning three wins since 2022 against respected names like Roman Szymanski and Borys Mankowski. Competing less than two months after he went four rounds deep in an interim fight, Mircea will have the biggest appearance of his KSW run thus far.
Nearly half of the KSW 93 lineup includes fighters representing France. A big spotlight will be in the co-main event spot when Wilson Varela takes on Marian Ziolkowski, who is returning for the first time since an injury caused him to be stripped of the lightweight title. With both fighters riding significant winning streaks, the bout could determine who is next in line for the winner of the main event.
Here’s the bout order for KSW 93:
Main Card (1:00PM EDT / 7:00PM CEST) (KSW PPV)
Bout 9: Salahdine Parnasse (18-2) vs. Valeriu Mircea (30-8-1) (KSW Lightweight Championship)
Bout 8: Wilson Varela (11-5) vs. Marian Ziolkowski (25-8-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 7: Madars Fleminas (12-5) vs. Artur Szczepaniak (10-2) (Welterweight)
Bout 6: Prince Aounallah (18-11) vs. Michal Martinek (10-5) (Heavyweight)
Bout 5: Laid Zerhouni (12-8) vs. Boubacar Niakate (9-5) (Middleweight)
Bout 4: Aymard Guih (17-13-1) vs. Francisco Barrio (12-3) (Catchweight 161 lbs)
Bout 3: Alfan Rocher-Labes (10-3) vs. Kenji Bortoluzzi (11-5-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 2: Flore Hani (6-3) vs. Sandra Succar (3-0) (Flyweight)
Bout 1: El Hadji Ndiaye (5-2) vs. Nicolae Bivol (3-0) (Lightweight)
Cage Warriors Searches For New Welterweight Champ In Dublin
Cage Warriors will find their next welterweight champ when they head to the Simmonscourt RDS in Dublin, Ireland on Saturday night.
Just five months ago, Giannis Bachar defeated Omiel Brown to earn the then-vacant welterweight title. The Greek prospect’s title run ended up being short-lived, as just a few months later he accepted a spot on this year’s season of UFC reality TV show “The Ultimate Fighter” and relinquished his title.
With the championship spot at 170 pounds vacant, Cage Warriors made a fight between James Sheehan and Daniel Konrad for this weekend.
Sheehan is the more experienced Cage Warriors fighter of the two. He has competed in the promotion since 2019, with the two losses in his eight-fight run coming against now-UFC talents Ian Machado Garry and Oban Elliott. He is being given the title opportunity after overcoming Olli Santalahti in a decision outcome last October.
Konrad is a Swiss finisher who will be competing in his first-ever Cage Warriors bout. He has earned six wins since turning pro in 2015, with all of his victories coming via finish in the first or second rounds. He’s entering this weekend on a four-fight winning streak, including a 43-second armbar submission win over PFL Europe alum Tomasz Langowski.
The main event will be a big test on both Sheehan and Konrad. Neither fighter has gone five rounds in total, with Konrad never even going the distance in a three-round pro fight before.
The busy 14-bout card includes numerous Irish prospects. Former Cage Warriors Featherweight Champion Paul Hughes will look for his second win since moving up to lightweight in the co-main event, facing short-notice opponent Fabiano Silva.
Silva, a veteran of more than 40 fights and a KSW alum, will be trying to bounce back from a decision loss that he took to Patryk Dunski in Poland last month. He was booked for this fight just recently after two prior opponents for Hughes fell through.
Here’s how the full Cage Warriors 170 show looks:
Main Card (4:00PM EDT / 9:00PM IST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 14: James Sheehan (7-3) vs. Daniel Konrad (6-1) (Vacant Cage Warriors Welterweight Championship)
Bout 13: Paul Hughes (10-1) vs. Fabiano Silva (34-15-1) (Catchweight 160 lbs)
Bout 12: Ger Harris (4-1) vs. Gregory Wamytan (2-1) (Flyweight)
Bout 11: Decky McAleenan (8-5-1) vs. Ville Mankinen (5-3-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 10: Taka Mhandu (4-2) vs. Rory Evans (6-6) (Bantamweight)
Preliminary Card (1:00PM EDT / 6:00PM IST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 9: Solomon Simon (3-0) vs. Ieuan Mackenzie (3-0) (Featherweight)
Bout 8: Scott Harvey (3-0) vs. Enrico Di Gangi (4-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 7: Ryan Shelley (6-2) vs. Kallum Parker (2-3) (Featherweight)
Bout 6: Eimear Darcy (0-0) vs. Jenny Line (0-3) (Flyweight)
Bout 5: Ciaran Brady (0-0) vs. Tomasz Zdanowski (0-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 4: Dara Ward (1-0) vs. Ben Petches-Kelly (1-1) (Welterweight)
Bout 3: Matthew Elliott (2-1) vs. Valentino Riva (3-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 2: Sineadh Ni Nuallain (0-1) vs. Jennifer Trioreau (0-4) (Catchweight 120 lbs)
Bout 1: Jamie Abbott-Bissett (0-0) vs. Pawel Jezierski (0-0) (Flyweight)